In February 1970, labor counsel attorney LeGrande Young was informed by his company, Anaconda, that he was being promoted to head counsel for wire and cable, a job that would require him to transfer east to Greenwich, where the company was headquartered and from where he would travel the world for his company. Having located a home in the middle-class neighborhood of North Mianus, LeGrande Young, known as "Grit," his wife Sherry, and their four young children, hopped on a plane east.

"I remember playing cards with my dad on the plane ride and thinking how exciting this was," said Melissa Young, who was 4 at the time. "It was a great adventure for all of us."

A moving van was in the driveway when the Youngs arrived at their new home on 27 Split Timber Place.

"We all ran from room to room, picking which ones we liked," Melissa recalled. Her three brothers, Steve, 8; Mike, 6, and Tom, 8 months (a fifth child, Jim, would come along in 1978) immediately settled into their new surroundings and prepared for school, which would start the following month.

The oldest, Steve, headed to North Mianus Elementary School just 500 yards from the family's home. Eager to learn, he was a happy, outgoing 8-year-old. "I loved getting good grades," Steve said. Steve's years in elementary school were among his most formative and he breezed through to sixth grade, always maintaining straight As as well as his popularity.

"Steve had this infectious personality," said Eddie Sheehan, Steve's closest boyhood friend, "and everyone seemed to be drawn to him. He was just fun to be with."

Steve and his siblings thrived in their new surroundings and they joined the neighborhood pack of kids of all ages who played a wide range of games and activities throughout the tangle of streets. The area then, as it is now, was second- or third-generation Italian or Irish or from other western European descent; and largely Catholic. "Eddie's grandmother lived next door and his aunt lived around the corner," Steve said. "I loved those associations of family and I think we fit in well because we shared those same values."

Steve's first real friendship was with Sheehan, whose family lived close by on Sunshine Avenue. Though Sheehan attended nearby Dundee School, they were part of the same neighborhood and became best buddies. A favorite game of the boys was "Home Run Derby."

When the boys were not playing baseball, they quickly organized pickup games of basketball at whatever home had a net and backboard. Informal games of touch football were organized in 30 minutes; whichever kids were home and wanted to play headed to North Mianus School; games of four-on-four or five-on-five seemed to last for hours into the cool fall evenings.

Steve Young says these early game experiences shaped his athletic career like none other.

"Everything in that neighborhood had a score and a winner," he said, recalling that there were leagues for every sport or game, which included teams and drafts. "We also would have champions for this or that sport, which was great because you were actually working for something -- there was a goal."

Faith of 6 generations

Despite fitting in easily to their new neighborhood, the Youngs were Mormon and their friends took notice.

"I explained to them that we don't drink, we don't smoke and we don't swear," he recalled. "How many 10-year-olds get to say, `This is who I am,' so as I got older I already had this defined for myself because I spoke about it to others so early in my life."

Still, the issue did not affect their friendships. "We were of course aware of it," Steve Gebhardt said. "But we did not talk about it. We were all different at some level and Steve and his family was so great; that's all that mattered to us."

As the eldest of five, Steve did feel some responsibility to lead the way for his siblings and was conscience of his behavior but was equally concerned that his early success in school and in sports would overshadow them. "I was worried that this might swamp them," Steve noted, "especially my brother Mike."

Two years younger than Steve to the day, Mike Young, although more reserved, was very competitive with his older brother, but used it to his benefit. "I was always the little brother trying to keep up with Steve," Mike said. "But deep down I tried to emulate him and I would not have been as successful had Steve not been there to lead the way."

Many consider Mike, who followed Steve as quarterback at GHS and who was a top baseball player, as the more talented brother athletically, including Steve.

His three younger siblings; Melissa (swimming); Tom (who played the same three sports as Steve and Mike at Greenwich High School) and Jim (football, wrestling and lacrosse) were accomplished athletes in their own right and credit Steve with setting an example for them. "He was always our family leader and we learned so many things from Steve," Tom said. "He was a wonderful brother to all of us."